By: Brandon Apter, contributor 
Final: Phillies 2, Indians 1 ❖ Attendance: 23,809
PHILADELPHIA — Pitching, whether it has been the starters or the bullpen, has been the reason for the Phillies (15-10) strong start to 2016. Today was no different. Vince Velasquez spun six shutout innings and the bullpen held off the Indians to finish off a 2-1 win for the Phillies, completing a three-game sweep of the Indians (10-12).
Today's win marked the Phils fifth in a row and their ninth victory in their last 10 games. They've won three straight series' against Milwaukee, Washington and Cleveland. It's the first time the Phillies have earned back-to-back sweeps since September 7-12, 2012 against the Rockies and Marlins. The Phillies bullpen allowed just one run while striking out 15 in 12 innings during the series.
The Phillies look to keep rolling on Monday night, when they visit the Cardinals in St. Louis for game one of a four-game series. Jeremy Hellickson will get the nod for the Phils. He'll oppose Cardinals ace, Adam Wainwright.
WP: Vince Velasquez (4-1, 1.44 ERA) ❖ LP: Danny Salazar (2-2, 2.40 ERA) ❖ SV: Hector Neris (1)
Hub: Game Summary ❖ Starting Pitchers ❖ At the Plate ❖ Bullpen ❖ What's Next
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
| CLE | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| PHI | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 2 | 4 | 2 |
The Phillies scored two in the third to lead off the scoring. Vince Velasquez led off the inning with a walk. Following a Cesar Hernandez pop-out, Peter Bourjos singled, putting two runners on with just one out. Freddy Galvis knocked a bloop single into center, scoring Velasquez to make it a 1-0 Phils lead. With runners on the corners and Maikel Franco at the plate, Indians starter Danny Salazar lost his footing, resulting in a balk. Bourjos scored from third to extend the lead to 2-0 in favor of the Phillies.
Cleveland threatened in the top of the fourth. Velasquez walked two start the frame before getting two quick outs. Darin Ruf saved a run with a nice diving catch in left field to rob Rajai Davis of a hit and save a run.
SuperRuf out here saving runs. pic.twitter.com/tfoMTk8bwO
— Phillies (@Phillies) May 1, 2016
Carlos Santana finally got the Indians on the board in the ninth with a one-out solo homer, but that's all they'd get as Hector Neris would go on to earn his first career save.
| IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Danny Salazar | 7.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 2.40 |
| Vince Velasquez | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 1.44 |
Indians
- Carlos Santana: 1-3, HR, R, RBI, BB, .244 AVG
- Francisco Lindor: 1-3, .294 AVG
- Tyler Naquin: 1-4, 3 K, .333 AVG
Phillies
- Freddy Galvis: 1-3, RBI, 2 K, .236 AVG
- Cameron Rupp: 1-3, K, .263 AVG
- Peter Bourjos: 1-3, R, .171 AVG
Indians
- Jeff Manship: 1 IP, 1 H, 0.00 ERA
Phillies
- David Hernandez: 2.0 IP, 1H, 2 K, 3.38 ERA
- Hector Neris: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 K, 1 HR, 1.17 ERA
What's Next
- Monday, May 2, 2016: at St. Louis Cardinals, 8:15 p.m.
- Busch Stadium
- RHP Jeremy Hellickson (2-1, 3.81 ERA) vs. RHP Adam Wainwright (1-3, 7.16 ERA)
- TV: CSN; Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
